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Poster (c) Fox Searchlight
Nick Nolte admitted at the Toronto Film Festival that he used a little bit of heroin every day to prepare for his role of Bob in The Good Thief. If you think it�s a regular heist movie, think again. Instead of the obligatory twists, turns, backstabbings, cheating on wives, and everything, it has a sophisticated style to it (it helps that it was all shot in France�nice!). However, it gets bogged down by TOO much flair and sophistication, a confusing plot, and hard to understand accents.
The plot has Bob (Nolte) as an�guess what�aging thief who wants to do one last giant heist! Boy, I love the originality in plots today. He lives in the beautiful scenery of France, and he wants to rob paintings with a high value from a casino. People along for the ride include Paulo (Sa�d Taghmaoui), Raoul (G�rard Darmon), and Remi (Marc Lavoine). This entire movie has an un-Hollywood feel to it, but one �quality� from American films comes into it: there are a whole lot of characters. It�s hard to keep track of, and Nolte�s mumbling voice doesn�t help.
Another aspect of The Good Thief that I found nauseating (literally) was director Neil Jordan�s way of ending scenes with a freeze-frame. At times it looks like some bad editing, while at other times it simply looked like watching a scratched DVD on a very slow computer. Jordan seems like one of those �trendy� Hollywood directors. Others like him include Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down), Spike Lee (25th Hour), and Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich). I don�t particularly like their styles; they always seem to use odd camera shots and even odder ways of ending scenes.
Don�t go into The Good Thief expecting an ordinary, Hollywood heist movie. It has an air of sophistication, but ends up in deep bleep by the end.
Rated R for language, sexuality, drug content and some violence.
Review Date: May 23, 2003
